The Sleeping Prince
by The Storyteller 2.0
Summary: The Dark Lord wanted to mark her son. She would not let him. She called upon Mother Magic in a bid to save her son. Magic granted her request. Years after the war, Harry stumbles upon a man sleeping on an alter made of crystal. Who is he, and why does he look so familiar? Hermione had always told him his curiosity might get him into trouble one day.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Narcissa Malfoy stared into the crazed eyes of her husband and felt her heart crumble. She had never dreamed that her life would become this. Terrified of her own husband. What a sorry sight. Her Lucius was gone. The madman was all that remained. He wanted to force their son to take the mark. Her boy, her precious son. She wouldn't let him. She'd die first. Narcissa smiled a slow, mischievous grin. One that her husband missed in his mad ramblings. She would protect her baby. he would not be forced into servitude under He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She would see to that.

In the dead of night, she crept to her sons room and watched him. She felt horribly guilty for what she was about to do, but she had no choice. She had to hide him and she had to do it tonight. The Dark Lord could feel powerful magic when it was cast near him, so she had to do it before he arrived for the meeting tomorrow morning. A tear slid down her cheek. To keep him safe, she had to leave him. She sucked in a stuttering breath and began to chant.

"Lady Magic, I call upon thee to hear my plea. The Lord of Darkness seeks to mark my son as his own. I beg thee, hide my son, keep him unaware until such a day that he may return to this land and be safe. So I have spoken, so mote it be!"

She felt the magic soar around her, and felt its heavy weight as it judged her intentions. She watched as her sons room exploded into dazzling lights that flashed all colours imaginable. And she smiled when she felt magic accept her request. She could die now, knowing that her baby would be safe. Her little prince would not suffer as his father had. As she had.

With that, Narcissa Malfoy fell to the floor and even in death, she looked triumphant.

Magic smiled at her daughter and looked over to the boy. Little prince, indeed. She enveloped the child in her arms, and wisked him away into the night.


	2. A Bit Like Alice

Harry sighed once again. Less out of exasperation and more because he had nothing else to do. It was hot, humid and there were bugs everywhere. How Hermione convinced him to go hiking in the Amazon, he'd never know. He had just been nodding along, day dreaming about quidditch when she had squealed excitedly and thrown her arms around him in a hug before flooing out of Grimmauld Place. It had taken him three days to figure out what he'd agreed to. Ron had found it hilarious. Git.

Harry swatted at abother bug, at least he was out of number 12. He had started going stir crazy. After the war, the wizarding public had gone insane. Moreso then usual. Some had praised him as their saviour, the one who was to fix all of their problems. And then joined the others who figured he was the next dark lord _after_ they learned that he was not, in fact, going to do anything more for them. It was honestly kind of comical. Sadly, the Weasley parents and Ginny had been some of the ones to turn on him. Ginny had it in her head that he was her white knight and someday he was going to realize that they belonged together and sweep her off her feet before riding into the sunset to their happily ever after. Yeah right.

You see, Harry was 100%, completely, utterly and undeniably gay. He liked men. And Ginny just couldn't except that. So she sold her sob story to the press. How her "Sweet boyfriend" had been "corrupted" by all the "nasty boys" in his dormitory. Harry and the guys had laughed so hard at that they had tears streaming down their faces and stitches in their sides. The rest of the populace hadn't found it as funny. Dean and Seamus had been harrassed in the halls, hexed, jinxed and cursed. They spent a lot if time in the hospital wing. Ron had been mostly left alone after Ginny's friends had interrogated him. And Neville...poor sweet Neville. Besides Harry, he had gotten the worst of it. His Gran had tried to disown him, thankfully she couldn't, as she wasn't the head of the family. The students harrassed him and the staff hadn't done anything to help. Naville got twitchy. Jumping at shadows, throwing stunning spells at any little noise that startled him. Harry tried his best to help, but everything he did just seemed to make it worse.

Neville had been close to breaking during the last months before their graduation. Luna had been a big help. Her flighty, whimsical nature had soothed Neville's fraying nerves, and kept him sane until they could leave Hogwarts. Harry could now admit that he had been jealous of Luna. Why could she be around his crush and sooth him while Harry's presence just seemed to agitate him. It had hurt. A lot more then he wanted to admit. Growing up at the Dursley's had starved him of affection, and now that he was older, he craved it, physically sought it out. Because of the cupboard, and the lack of food during his developmental years, he never hit that long awaited growth spurt. His parents had both been tall, but in this case, circumstance had won out over genetics and he was a very tall 5'4, and a bit. After convincing Ron that _'No, I do not have a crush on you, geez would you stop being such a prat?' _he'd been allowed to cuddle up with his pseudo brother. Ron liked to tease him about how clingy he was, and that he was tiny enough that he could tuck himself perfectly into Ron's side. Git. Not everyone can be 6'3.

He'd craved a relationship with Neville though. He was well aware that Nev was straight. His head knew that, but his heart refused to listen. He wanted to be the one that calmed him down after a trying day. He wanted to run his fingers through Neville's hair _'it looked so soft...'_. He could honestly admit that he'd cried himself to sleep after Neville and Luna had announced that they were dating. He'd fallen into a sort of daze after that. It had taken a long time for Ron and Hermione to snap him out of it, and even longer for him to be able to look at his crush and Luna without tearing up.

Eventually, he'd gotten over it and after they had graduated, Neville moved as far away as he could get from Britain while still being on Earth. Last they'd heard, he had met up with Luna in America after her graduation a year later and they were touring around Switzerland looking for the blitzing bumberlee. Whatever that was. Luna's explanation had only confused him more. All he'd caught from that conversation had been the name and that they were native to Switzerland. That's it.

As he tripped his way through the jungle, he thought he caught sight if something in the grass. It sparkled prettily in the late day sun. He rested his hand on at tree trunk to stabalize himself and leaned in close. The branch he was leaning on gave way with a snap and he went tumbling head first down a, rather large, hole in the tree. He landed unconscious in a heap on the ground. Surrounding him was a hidden paradise. Unbeknownst to him, a young man, encased in crystal, blinked his eyes open and looked around for the first time in years.

Magic smiled and rubbed her hands together. She didn't pay any mind to the other gods backing away, hoping not to be the object of her impending glee. _" This is going to be fun." _She thought as she watched her prince wake from his sleep. _" I can't wait to see what happens." _She cackled in unadulterated delight and the gods fled. This was going to be good.


End file.
